


Of Witches and Homes

by genderqueer_turtle



Series: TSS Fantasy AU [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Fantasy AU, Gen, Magic, Minor Character Death, Virgil's backstory, Witches, brief mentions of abuse, nothing dramatic it's skimmed over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genderqueer_turtle/pseuds/genderqueer_turtle
Summary: Most places in the world hate magic and the people who use it. Virgil just wants to live, but because he was born with the ability to use magic, he life has been far from peaceful. That is, until he accidentally runs into the kingdom of Sanderia, where he is not only safe, but learns what a family is like.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: TSS Fantasy AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1900258
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Of Witches and Homes

All Virgil remembers from his early childhood is fear. The constant fear he felt; the fear of the people who were hunting him, the fear of the people who were hurting him, the fear of himself and what he was and what he could do. 

Virgil didn’t ask to know magic, he doesn’t remember learning. He didn’t set out to be a witch, or to summon a familiar. It was all an accident. But nobody listened to him, nobody believed him. They called him names, told him he was the devil’s child, that he was evil and dangerous. And Virgil believed them. After all, nobody else he knew could use magic. He was special, strange, and therefore, dangerous. 

Virgil doesn’t remember the abuse, he blocked out those memories. What he does remember is the running. All the running he did, to escape everything. How he was always searching for a new place to hide, praying to any god who might exist that his abusers, the witch hunters and magic haters, would not find him. Most nights, he didn’t sleep. He couldn’t sleep, not when the people who wanted him dead could find him at any moment, not when they were nearby. 

Everyday, he continued to run, to nowhere in particular. Just away. Always away. Far, far away. So much running. 

A spider, which Virgil realized was his familiar, always stayed near Virgil, usually resting on his shoulder as he ran. It didn’t matter where Virgil was, the spider was always there, keeping company and assisting in any magic Virgil performed. Virgil had named the spider Paranoia. He didn’t know if witches were supposed to name their familiars, but he didn’t care. Paranoia was Virgil’s best and only friend, and he adored the little arachnid. 

Virgil did his best to avoid using his magic, he knew that the magic was why people hated him, why they wanted him dead. He only used it in life or death situations, when he didn’t have a choice. Paranoia was always using his own magic, keeping Virgil safe, but there was only so much the little spider could do without Virgil or Virgil’s magic. Virgil wondered if his hunters were somehow tracing his magic. Virgil could see where he had used magic, see the deep purple residue, but he didn’t know how to get rid of them. Every once and awhile, he’d see some magic residue that wasn’t his, and he’d wonder about whoever had casted a spell there. But he never entertained those thoughts for long, assuming that the person had been caught. Virgil didn’t want to be caught.

* * *

Virgil didn’t know how long exactly he had been running. All he knew was that it had been a long time. And that time didn’t matter to the people hunting him, they’d just continue to try and catch him. He was exhausted, stumbling around, barely able to keep going. He heard shouts behind him and kept pushing himself to continue moving. He couldn’t give up now. Ahead of him, Virgil saw a wall, old and tall. If he could find a way over it, maybe he could rest for a little bit. Virgil made his way to the wall and desperately searched for a way to climb up, the wall was void of places for him to stick his hands and feet. The shouts of his pursuers grew closer, they were going to catch him. He needed to find a place to hide. 

Paranoia rubbed his legs against Virgil’s face, and Virgil immediately knew what he had to do. With the familiar’s help, Virgil concentrated and launched himself into the air and over the wall, using magic. He fell to the ground on the other side, landing on his knees. 

Listening, he could hear the shouts of his pursuers come up to the wall. There, they spent a few minutes, Virgil waiting and listening in total silence. 

“He’s not here, let’s turn back around and search the forest. He can’t be far,” a voice said, probably the hunting party’s leader. Once he was sure that they were gone, Virgil let out a sigh of relief. 

“Hey! Kid! What are you doing over here?” Someone shouted, running up to Virgil. Virgil panicked, and with the help of Paranoia, he used his magic once again, making a forcefield bubble around himself. The person ran straight into the force field, stumbling backwards.

“Damn! That hurt!” the man said, rubbing his face where he had hit the magic bubble. Carefully, the man held out his hands until he hit the forcefield again, as if searching for it. Virgil realized that the man couldn’t see the magic, that only Virgil could see it. 

Upon closer inspection, Virgil realized that the man in front of him was a soldier. Virgil cowered into himself, soldiers were supposed to turn in magic users to be killed. Would this soldier turn Virgil in the moment Virgil couldn’t support the bubble anymore? 

More soldiers came over, placing their hands gently on the force field. The first soldier looked at Virgil, not with hate or fear, but with concern. 

“Are you okay kid? I saw you take that nasty fall.” Virgil didn’t move. 

“We need to turn him in,” one soldier said. Virgil shuttered. “He’s an illegal immigrant and you know that the King wants them all to be taken back to their country, especially if they’re magic users. Our kingdom can’t be seen harboring them.” 

The first soldier shook his head. “He’s just a kid, and he looks so scared. Look at the poor boy, he’s trembling. And he looks so young, probably only six years old. We can’t force him to go back to where he came from, they’ll kill him.” Virgil listened silently, confused and shaking with anxiety. Paranoia rubbed at Virgil’s face in a comforting manner, but Virgil was too scared. 

“How old are you kid?” Another soldier asked. Virgil tried to swallow the lump in his throat, barely able to form the words.

“I’m seven.” 

“See!” The first soldier said. “We can’t leave a seven year old! We should take him to Madame Lydia, she’d know what to do.” 

Virgil didn’t know who this Madame Lydia was, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out. Would Madame Lydia make him go home, to the people who wanted to hurt him? 

Virgil began to cry, sore from running and falling and his strength dwindling every moment from the amount of magic he was using. The first soldier kneeled down so that he was eye level with Virgil. 

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay. We’re not going to make you go back, I promise. My name is Gwaine, I’m a soldier at the borders. What’s your name?” 

Through sobs, Virgil gave his name. Gwaine smiled.

“That’s a lovely name Virgil!” 

“This is my familiar, Paranoia. He’s a good spider!” Virgil said, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Gwaine smiled even more. 

“Paranoia is a nice name for a familiar! Did you name him yourself?” Virgil nodded. 

“Virgil, I need you to lower your protective bubble. I want to take you somewhere where you’ll be safe. You can learn magic and Paranoia can grow to be a strong spider familiar. Would you like that?” Gwaine held out his hand, just out of Virgil’s reach, just on the other side of the forcefield. Virgil nodded again. 

Virgil let go of the magic bubble, watching the purple disappear. Gwaine stuck out his hand, testing to see if it was gone. Then he stepped closer to Virgil.

“Virgil, can you stand?” Virgil felt tired, sleepy, but he tried to stand. He wobbled a little bit, almost falling over. Then he sat back down and shook his head. Standing was too tiring. 

“Well then, may I carry you?” Gwaine asked. Virgil nodded. All the other soldiers watched as Gwaine picked up Virgil and cradled him in his large arms. Paranoia made a satisfied noise that Virgil had never heard before. Apparently the spider familiar was just as exhausted as Virgil was. As Gwaine carried Virgil, Virgil drifted off to sleep. It was a peaceful sleep, a deep sleep. Virgil hadn’t slept that well in ages.

* * *

Virgil woke up in a bed, a warm, comfortable bed. He felt well rested, better than he had felt in a long time. He looked around from Gwaine, taking in his surroundings. He was in a bedroom, dark but homely, the smell of herbs comforting. Gwaine was nowhere to be found, so Virgil climbed out of bed, dropping down to the floor as he was too short for his feet to reach. 

He walked into the next room, where he was greeted by a lady he had never seen before. The moment she turned to him, he shrank away, unsure of what would happen next. 

“Ah, you must be Virgil. Glad to see that you’re finally awake. You slept for three days straight you poor boy. I’m Madame Lydia, you’ll be living and training under me from the now on, that is, if you actually are a witch.” So this was the lady Gwaine had spoken about. But where was Gwaine? 

Madame Lydia noticed Virgil’s eyes scanning the room. “Your soldier friend has left, I’m afraid. He stayed here until last night, when he couldn’t come up with an excuse to miss another day of work. He seemed very worried about you, but I told him that you’d be perfectly fine in my care. If that were not the case, he would have not brought you to me. Now, would you like some breakfast?” 

Virgil had never heard a woman talk so much. She seemed to never run out of things to say, and Virgil was slightly intimidated by it. He cautiously followed the woman to the table and sat down where she indicated. In front of him, she placed a steaming plate, covered in eggs and bacon and flapjacks. Virgil stared, wide-eyed. 

“Don’t stare at your food, eat it! Goodness child, did they not feed you where you came from?” Virgil shook his head. Back home, he only ate porridge, and that was only when the people in charge of him felt like feeding him, which wasn’t very often. Madame Lydia seemed shocked and pushed the plate closer to Virgil. In a matter of seconds, the plate was completely clean.

“My, you were hungry! If you keep eating like this, you’ll run me out of business kid!” Madame Lydia laughed. Virgil shrank back, afraid that his quick eating had offended the witch.

“You’ll fit right in here, won’t you Virgil?” Virgil watched her, not saying a word. “You don’t talk much do you? If you want to become a witch, you’ll need to talk to be able to perform some more advanced spells. Hopefully we’ll get there. From what I hear, you’re a very powerful witch, especially for a child your age. Speaking of child witches, Janus should be home any minute. You’ll get to meet your new older brother in a sense. He’s also an excellent witch, the brightest boy I’ve ever seen.” 

Suddenly, the door opened and a boy about two years older than Virgil walked in. He was tall for his age, but not in an awkward sense. He had silky flaxen yellow hair and Virgil immediately noticed the silver eyes. The boy wore yellow robes that shimmered, and Virgil immediately wished he had robes just like that. Around the boy’s waist, a snake coiled around him and held on tight, almost like a belt. 

The boy stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Virgil. Virgil felt tiny under this boy’s watchful stare, so he grabbed Paranoia and held him close for comfort. 

“I see that he’s awake,” the boy said, sitting across the table from Virgil. Virgil felt Paranoia’s leg reach out comfortingly and relaxed a little. 

“Yes!” Madame Lydia said excitedly. “Virgil, this is my student, Janus. Janus, this is Virgil, he’ll be studying with you from now on. He doesn’t talk a lot, in fact, I haven’t heard a single word out of him at all! But the soldier said that he spoke, so we know that he can. You two are going to get along splendidly! I just know it!” 

Janus smiled at the smaller boy. “Do you want to see the garden? It’s nice out at this time of year and a bit of fresh air will do you good.” Virgil waited a minute, watching Janus. Janus held out his hand, offering it to Virgil, who hesitantly took it and followed Janus out the front door and into the garden. 

Janus sat in the grass, pointing out all the different plants and animals that had a home in the garden. At first, Virgil just sat, listening. But after a while, he got up and explored the garden. It wasn’t a big garden, but it was full of life. Virgil smiled, beaming up at Janus. 

“So, do you like the garden?” Janus asked, hoping that Virgil would speak. Virgil just nodded and continued to explore.

* * *

Getting Virgil to speak was harder than Janus thought. Madame Lydia said it was the trauma, that Virgil wasn’t ready to open himself up like that, and that Janus just had to respect that. 

Virgil had been living with them for almost a year now, and he had mastered almost all the basic spells with ease. Virgil was a natural witch, the only thing holding him back was the fact that he wouldn’t talk and the fact that Virgil often got very anxious. Sometimes, Virgil would have what Madame Lydia called anxiety attacks, and Janus would sit with him, comforting him as Virgil silently sobbed. 

Virgil suffered from terrible nightmares, but he was careful never to wake Janus up, who shared a room with Virgil. Janus never let Virgil know that he was awake, opting to let Virgil be and not overwhelm him. Janus also never mentioned that some nights, he could hear Virgil whisper things to Paranoia, Virgil’s familiar. Janus never knew what Virgil was saying, only that he was talking to the spider.

One morning, the rain poured endlessly from the sky, so the two boys were stuck inside. Madame Lydia was teaching them to make a special potion that Janus was struggling to get the hang of. Virgil seemed to be doing fine, silently stirring his cauldron and smiling happily. 

Janus’ cauldron exploded for the third time that morning. 

“Ah fuck,” Janus said, cleaning up his mess. 

“Janus darling, what have I told you about cursing? It’s not becoming of a young boy like you.” Madame Lydia shook her head disappointedly. When she turned around, Janus made sure to dramatically stick his tongue out at her, causing Virgil to go into a fit of quiet giggles. 

“Try again Janus, and no messing around.” 

Virgil waved to get Janus’ attention, a mischievous grin on his face. He stuck his tongue out at Janus, before giggling again. Then he pointed at his cauldron and Janus watched as Virgil purposely poured too much wormwood into the potion. Virgil started laughing, actual laughs with sound, as the potion bubbled over before turning an ugly green color. 

“Ah fuck.” 

It took a moment for Janus’ brain to process what just happened. Virgil had spoken. Madame Lydia gasped, looking just as shocked as Janus felt. Virgil burst into a fit of giggles. 

“Look what you’ve done Janus! He finally speaks and the first thing he says is parroting you, cursing! He’s only eight and he’s cursing! I’m raising two little gremlins! No, worse than gremlins! Two little demons!” 

Virgil was rolling around on the floor, laughing. It was a sing-song sort of laugh, one of the prettiest laughs Janus had ever heard. Janus started laughing too, before going over and hugging the younger boy. 

“Virgil! You spoke!” He said, holding the boy tightly. Virgil laughed again.

“I can speak!” Janus laughed, feeling Madame Lydia kneel down next to him and join the hug, the three of them sitting there, laughing and hugging. Janus realized that they were a family. A strange, magical family.

* * *

Virgil was thirteen when Madame Lydia passed away. He missed her terribly, she was his mother, his first real family. After being alone for the first seven years of his life, he had finally found a family, and now it was falling apart. 

Janus was handling it slightly differently. Instead of crying and falling apart like Virgil was doing, he would shut himself up, focusing on his magic. Virgil remembered what it felt like to shut himself up, he remembered how lonely he felt. When he first moved in with Madame Lydia and Janus, he still felt lonely even though he had people who loved him, because he had shut himself up. 

Janus didn’t go to the funeral, Virgil went alone. Paranoia sat on his shoulder, rubbing his face in his usual comforting manner. More than anything, Virgil wanted Janus to be there with him, but he understood that he couldn’t push Janus while he was mourning. 

Virgil marched in the rain back towards the cottage that he lived in with Madame Lydia and Janus. Well, just Janus now. He heard the mud squish under his feet, felt the cold water drops fall into his hair. He felt Paranoia slip into his robes, hiding from the rain. Virgil used to enjoy the rain, it brought new life. Now it just seemed depressing. 

By the time he reached the cottage, he was soaked and shivering to the bone. He stood in the front door, dripping water. Janus was in the kitchen, making dinner, and didn’t even look up when Virgil entered, didn’t even speak. 

Suddenly, without even realizing it, Virgil was on the ground, sobbing. Janus finally looked up and ran over to Virgil, wrapping his arms around him and holding him. 

The two sat there for a few minutes, silent tears trailing down both of their cheeks. Virgil felt Paranoia crawl up out of his robes and stroke his face in the spider’s comforting manner. 

“She’s gone,” Virgil muttered. Janus nodded, wiping away his tears. He continued to hold Virgil. 

“I miss her so much. I wish I got to have her around longer,” Virgil said, a bit louder as if he was finding his voice. 

“I know,” Janus said, his first words since Madame Lydia had died. The fifteen year old looked like he had aged a few years in a span of seconds. “I miss her too. She was my mom, she took me in. I’ve lived with her, been her family for as long as I can remember. And now she’s gone.” 

“What are we going to do now that she’s gone? What if the soldiers make me go back?” Virgil felt his gut twist with anxiety. 

“They won’t, you’ve been here too long. We can stay here, finish learning magic together. At least until we’re ready to go out there by ourselves. We’re brothers, in a sense. We look out for one another.” 

Virgil nodded, wiping his tears away. “Yeah, we are brothers.”

* * *

_** ONE YEAR LATER ** _

“Janus you can’t honestly be thinking about housing the prince! We could get arrested, charged for kidnapping, I could be sent out of the kingdom!” Virgil paced the kitchen, his hands waving frantically.

“Virgil, you’re spiraling. Take a deep breath for me and listen.” Virgil breathed for a moment, allowing himself to calm down. 

“Listen, I trust Patton with my life, he wouldn’t ask this of us if he felt like it’d put us in danger. The prince wants to leave, and he needs a place to stay until he is ready to stand on his own two feet. From what Patton says, the prince is a good guy, maybe you’ll like him. Think of it like taking in a stray puppy.”

“The prince is not a puppy Janus.” 

“Well then think about it this way. We took you in all those years ago. Technically, it was dangerous, because you illegally immigrated here. Now, we’re taking in a prince, who is running away on his own accord. We have been promised that we’ll be safe. So why would we not help him?” 

Virgil pouted. “I hate it when you use logic against me.” 

Janus stuck out his tongue. 

“So, can we please help this prince? Maybe it’ll be like getting another brother.” 

Virgil thought for a moment. “Another brother won’t be too bad I guess…”

“Great! I’ll go get him tonight. You stay here.” Janus went into the other room to prepare to house another person in their cottage. Virgil watched as Janus pulled out the old bed, the bed that used to belong to Madame Lydia. Having another person in the house would definitely be interesting, especially after having just the two of them in the house for a whole year.

“Another brother can’t be too bad…” Virgil mumbled to Paranoia. “I guess it can be good.”

* * *

Virgil waited impatiently in the kitchen, waiting for Janus to return with the runaway prince. He held Paranoia in his hand, for comfort. Paranoia was still his best friend, even after all these years, and their training together as witch and familiar. 

Voices appeared in the garden and Virgil threw open the front door. By the gate stood Janus, looking as calm and peaceful as he usually did. Next to him was a slightly smaller boy, approximately a year older than Virgil. So this must be the runaway prince. He had a wild look about him, with messy hair and dark clothes. The boy was looking around and his eyes landed on Virgil. 

“Hello! I’m Remus!” the prince said, smiling a wide grin. Virgil awkwardly smiled back. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody!   
> This was an interesting story to write because I lowkey felt bad for giving Virgil a sadder backstory. But once it was done, I liked it so I decided to keep it.   
> I've gone from liking this au to adoring it and I have a lot of ideas for stories but I'm kind of curious to know: for the people who've read all of the parts so far, is there something in particular you're interested in learning about? It can be anything from a certain character's backstory or anything else. I'm just curious and maybe if I can, i might work it into a story or make it a story. Depends on what it is.   
> Anyways, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


End file.
